Columns

No one ever knows how to finish one, there’s always awkwardness and it’s just really a difficult situation altogether.

And it’s not much easier when you have to put it in print.

If you haven’t guessed by now, this is my goodbye as editor of The Oldham Era. Rest assured, I’m leaving the place in great hands. Publisher Melissa Blankenship will still be at the helm, as will reporter Taylor Riley.

I’ve always been a planner. I have a precise schedule in my head, a physical copy in a spiral-bound book and several alarms set in my phone. I guess you could call it a control problem, but I would call it preparedness.

I plan down to the minute of my day.

This is when I have to be at work. This is when I eat. This is when I go to the gym. This is when I go to sleep.

I even plan in my personal life. A phone call goes out to my mom at 5 p.m., my best friend at 6 p.m., dinner with friends at 7 p.m., favorite show at 8 p.m.

Let’s talk about your plants’ basic needs so they may flourish and grow healthy, promoting longevity.

The number one basic need of any plant is light. Many plants such as Irises, Roses, and trees require full light. Other plants such as Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Hosta, require little direct light or shade. Whichever type of plant, the leaves need light because they are the plant’s food factory and light is the power source that helps them manufacture food from air and soil.

Last week, many of our schools celebrated Engineering Week with innovative projects and guest speakers. This is reflective of the emphasis on STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — across the country as we look ahead to a future in which one million STEM jobs will be available by 2018. However, the United States is projected to only graduate 200,000 students qualified for those same jobs.

As I finished up my seminary training and entered into ministry I was full of questions about the authority of scripture. Regrettably, I would pretend parts were not there that I didn’t like, “de-mythologize” other parts that seemed to be based on unscientific world views or superstition, and explain away parts that I disagreed with. With my background in Hebrew and Greek I could even overwhelm anyone who might disagree with me through my brilliance. All this fed my arrogance which made me a much less effective minister than I imagined in my own mind.

One of the most memorable places I’ve ever been is the House of Anne Frank in Amsterdam. One of the most startling lines I have ever read in any book was the quote in Anne Frank’s book The Diary of a Young Girl that read: “I do believe that deep within his (her) heart, every person is good.” She made this statement as she was being hunted down by the Nazis.

I love watching and studying people and trying to figure them out. I learned recently that a “tell” is the physical manifestation of the truth. A card player uses tells to determine if his opponent is bluffing. He watches for certain mannerisms and associates them with winning and losing. The opponent might raise his eyebrows or clench his fist when he has a winning hand or clear his throat or rub his chin when the cards don’t fall his way.

Two gas company service men, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters. They parked their truck at the end of the alley and then worked their way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watches the two men as they check her gas meter.

It’s no coincidence that during the month of February Americans celebrate both Valentine’s Day and American Heart Month. When you celebrate the love in your life – be sure to include yourself! That means learning about your risks for heart disease and stroke and staying “heart healthy” for yourself and your loved ones.

Due to a fire at one of our corporate printing plants, changes had to be made for all of the newspapers in our group in order to re-route printing jobs from Standard Printing in Shepherdsville to other available plants.